It may seem like there is a lot to personal finance. And in one sense there is. There are thousands of different approaches to personal finance. And this can get overwhelming. It may seem so overwhelming that you feel paralyzed at square one. But it doesn't have to be. There are a handful of things that are critical in personal finance. All the rest is splitting hairs. So go through each of these items one at a time and make an improvement in each area. . . .

Valentine's day can be a great day to celebrate all your relationships, but particularly the relationship with your significant other. On Valentine's we might pay extra special attention to our relationship and our significant other (although some of us don't). This attention is great. But we should also tend our relationships on the other 364 days of the year. Especially for married couples, a . . .

Contributed by Jennifer Chin
The largest transfer of wealth ever recorded is happening right now, and you may not have even realized it.
Over the next 30 years, over 30 trillion dollars in assets are going to be passed from baby boomer parents and grandparents to their millennial heirs. This will shift the balance of the economy squarely into the hands of the younger generation—who have . . .

Most people have dreams. Unfortunately, many people dismiss their dreams as unrealistic. A common excuse for throwing away your dreams is not being able to pay for it. With a little budgeting, however, you might be surprised how attainable your dream is.
Set Goals
If you don't know what you're budgeting for, you're not going to end up anywhere. Figure out why you need a budget. Is it as simple . . .

Much of the United States depends on car loans to finance their vehicle purchases. According to credit rating agency Experian, over 80% of new cars and roughly 55% of used car purchases are financed. So if everybody's doing it, it must be smart, right?
Taking out a Loan
The obvious advantage of financing a car purchase is being able to get a nicer, newer car than you would have been able to . . .

In response to the guest infographic, 67 Insane Facts About Bitcoin, reader Marty J wrote, "it is my understanding that each transaction takes hours to process on the block-chain (unless one pays a $30 premium to get to the head of the line) and uses an enormous amount of electricity. With these constraints, I can’t see myself ever really using bitcoin as a currency. So if it is simply an . . .

We are all creatures of habits. Good habits are critical to success. Master these habits and you'll be well on your way towards financial success. Yes, I know as we move into the New Year, the last thing you want is yet another goal or resolution. So don't try and tackle all of these at once, but rather work on each one separately until you have it down, and then move on to the next one.
1- . . .

I didn't do well in physics class in high school. But for some reason, I remember the concept of inertia. Basically if an object is at rest, its tendency is to continue to be at rest. If the object is in motion, it will continue in the same direction unless redirected by something else. It's a concept we observe all the time in our surroundings. But we also find inertia in personal . . .

About 6 months ago, my wife and I decided to start a cafe and especially during the last 3 or 4 months, we've had our heads buried in starting up said venture. If you've followed this blog for a while, you may have noticed my sudden and mysterious absence. This was due entirely to starting up the business. Now that life has more or less returned to normal, or as normal as life will ever be while . . .

Last week when J. Money went looking for recruits to dole out some $100s from the Rockstar Finance Community Fund, I gladly raised my hand. Because who doesn't like being Santa Clause?
The rules were simple. Rockstar Finance gave me $100 that I could use however I wanted, as long as I was DOING GOOD. Secondly, I had to share the story as an inspiration to others. I decided to attempt to be a . . .